[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 31, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-21517]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 31, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on 
a Petition to Remove the Northern Spotted Owl in California From the 
List of Threatened and Endangered Species

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of petition finding.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces a 90-
day finding on a petition to remove the northern spotted owl (Strix 
occidentalis caurina) in California from the list of species protected 
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The Service 
finds that the petition does not present substantial information 
indicating the requested action may be warranted.

ADDRESSES: Data, information, comments or questions concerning the 
status of the petitioned subspecies described below should be submitted 
to the Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2800 Cottage 
Way, Room E-1803, Sacramento, California 95825-1846. The petition, 
finding, supporting data, and comments are available for public 
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the above 
address.

DATES: The finding announced in this notice was made on August 3, 1994. 
Comments and materials related to this petition finding may be 
submitted to the Field Supervisor at the above address until further 
notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Phillip J. Detrich at the above 
address (916/978-4866).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533) requires that the 
Service make a finding on whether a petition to list, delist, or 
reclassify a species presents substantial scientific or commercial 
information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. To 
the maximum extent practicable, this finding is to be made within 90 
days of the receipt of the petition, and the finding is to be published 
promptly in the Federal Register. If the Service finds that a petition 
presents substantial information indicating that the requested action 
may be warranted, the Service then initiates a status review on that 
species. Section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act requires the Service to make a 
finding as to whether or not the petitioned action is warranted within 
1 year of the receipt of a petition that presents substantial 
information.
    On October 7, 1993, the U.S. Department of Interior received a 
petition from the California Forestry Association, Sacramento, 
California, requesting removal of the northern spotted owl in 
California from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. The 
petition, supporting documentation, and other documents have been 
reviewed to determine whether substantial information has been 
presented indicating that the requested action may be warranted.
    The northern spotted owl is a subspecies found in forested 
environments of western Washington, western Oregon, and northwestern 
California. On June 26, 1990, the Service published a final rule in the 
Federal Register listing the subspecies as threatened (55 FR 26114). 
The subspecies was listed because of widespread destruction and 
modification of its habitat and existing regulatory mechanisms were 
inadequate to control further habitat loss. Critical habitat for the 
subspecies was designated on January 15, 1992 (57 FR 1796).
    Detailed descriptions of the biology of the subspecies may be found 
in the listing notices cited above, in Thomas et al. (1990), and in the 
draft recovery plan for the species (USDI 1992). The known habitat for 
the northern spotted owl in most of its range is old-growth coniferous 
forest, which was found to have declined substantially due to timber 
harvest. As recognized in the final rule, northern spotted owls also 
were found in managed, second-growth forests in limited portions of the 
range, particularly in the coastal region of California, where coastal 
redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is the dominant coniferous species. 
However, because the coastal redwood region constitutes only about 7 
percent of the range of the subspecies and because available scientific 
studies indicated that the owl was primarily found in old-growth or 
mature stands in most of its range, these limited occurrences in 
managed timberlands were not of sufficient importance to prevent the 
listing of the subspecies. Recent surveys indicate that over 40 percent 
of the subspecies' known population in California is found in managed 
timberlands.
    The petition to delist was submitted based on regulations at 50 CFR 
424.11(d)(3), which state that a species may be delisted when 
``Subsequent investigations may show that the best scientific or 
commercial data available when the species was listed, or the 
interpretation of such data, were in error.'' The petitioner contends 
that ``(1) the northern spotted owl in California is a delistable unit; 
(2) the population is large and well-distributed; (3) the habitat used 
by the population is stable and likely to increase; (4) models used to 
analyze trends at the time of the listing are oversimplified and 
misleading; and (5) a detailed model (prepared by the petitioner) 
predicts that the population is stable and the forests of northern 
California are completely packed with owl territories.''
    The Act defines the term ``species'' to include any subspecies of 
fish, wildlife or plants, and any distinct population segment of any 
species of vertebrate fish or wildlife that interbreeds when mature. 
Although the Service has used international boundaries to define 
distinct vertebrate population segments, the Service has recently 
denied petitions to list species within certain states on the grounds 
that the requested listing did not involve a distinct vertebrate 
population segment--for example, the northern goshawk (Accipiter 
gentilis) in New Mexico and Arizona (57 FR 28474) and the lynx (Felis 
lynx canadensis) in the north Cascades of Washington (58 FR 36924).
    The Service determines that substantial information has not been 
presented indicating that the requested action may be warranted. This 
conclusion is based upon the following: the northern spotted owls in 
California do not constitute a distinct vertebrate population segment 
(a discrete group that is markedly separated from other populations of 
the same taxon). In large part because California Forest Practice Rules 
seem to be providing habitat that supports large numbers of the 
subspecies, the Service may propose to lift prohibitions against 
incidental take of northern spotted owls, where timber harvest is 
conducted in accordance with California law. The Service conducts 
ongoing status reviews for all listed species and will continue to 
evaluate the information provided by the petitioner as part of the 
status review on the northern spotted owl. This finding is based on 
scientific information contained in the petition and on information 
otherwise available to the Service at this time.

References Cited

Detrich, P.J., G.I. Gould, Jr., and D.M. Solis. In press. Status of 
spotted owl populations and management efforts in California. Trans. 
West. Sec. Wildl. Soc. Vol. 29. Sacramento, California.
Smith, R. N. 1992. Declaration to U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of 
Appeals. Marbled Murrelet v. Lujan, 92-36705. September 22, 1992.
Thomas, J.W., E.D. Forsman, J.B. Lint, E.C. Meslow, B.R. Noon, and 
J. Verner. 1990. A conservation strategy for the northern spotted 
owl. Washington, D.C: U.S. Govt. Printing Off.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, and U.S. Department 
of Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 1993. Draft environmental 
impact statement on management of habitat for late-successional and 
old-growth forest related species within the range of the northern 
spotted owl. Portland, Oregon.
U.S. Dept. of Interior. 1992. Final draft recovery plan for the 
northern spotted owl. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govt. Printing Off.

Author

    The primary author of this notice is Phillip J. Detrich (see 
ADDRESSES section).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17

    Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, and Transportation.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361-1407; 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544; 16 U.S.C. 
4201-4245; Public Law 99-625, 100 Stat. 3500; unless otherwise 
noted.

    Dated: August 3, 1994.
Mollie H. Beattie,
Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 94-21517 Filed 8-30-94; 8:45 am]
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